Desperation
by Holyknightsteve
Summary: After losing his entire family, a broken man calls upon the supposedly gone Lil' Slugger to take his life. One shot. Please review!


A/N: Huh… don't normally write about anime, despite my love for it, but this idea just wouldn't leave me alone. Nothing special, just a short little piece on Paranoia Agent, a series I have just recently become acquainted with. No characters from the series are in this except for Lil' Slugger. Just a tale on how one man's desperation and deep sadness temporarily reawakens the legend of Lil' Slugger. Well, enough outta me. Again, not very long, but I hope you like it all the same.

**Disclaimer:** I do not own or claim to own Paranoia Agent. Any characters/places/things not found within the original series are of my own creation and I do claim ownership to them.

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**_Desperation_**

Snow flakes fell from the night sky as a broken down and very poor looking man walked across an eerily quiet and empty bridge just outside of the city. His eyes were red from the now frozen tears he had been shedding for quite some time now. Memories of his dead family pounded within his head like a jackhammer on pavement. It was four years ago when his wife and son were killed by a drunk driver as they crossed one of the more lonely streets of the city. He was crushed then, but he at least still had his thirteen year old daughter, Mai. Life was rough, sure, but they always had each other. The pain they both felt from losing half of their family slowly waned over the years until they had finally gotten to the point where, when they thought of the deceased half of their family, they could only smile as they thought of nothing but happy times.

However, even bittersweet times must come to an end eventually…

Not long after young Mai had turned seventeen years old, a crazed man had come upon both father and daughter as they were out walking one night. He fought as hard as he could to defend the only family he had left in the world but he was simply no match for the man. Left to bleed on the sidewalk, he could only watch in horror as the last thing he loved in this world, his sweet-hearted daughter Mai, was brutally raped and killed before his very eyes.

So much heartbreak… so much pain… all of this happened just yesterday.

The heart-broken father stopped at one point in the bridge looked down at the icy waters. The peculiarly strong current sent waves of numbingly cold water crashing into the sturdy stone supports below. He leaned over the edge of the bridge and let a chilly gust of wind whip against his tear-soaked face. Many things ran through his mind, the most prevalent of these was his serious consideration of suicide. How could he continue to live on in a world everything he had come to love so dearly was taken away from him so abruptly?

"Damn you god! It was horrible enough that you had to take my wife and son! Why did you have to take my sweet little Mai? Why!"

He reached into his pocket and withdrew a very ragged looking wallet. From it, he pulled a recently taken picture of his daughter. She looked so sweet and lovely, despite the poor-looking clothes she wore. Their family was never rich (in fact, they were very poor) but they had each other.

After all, that was all they needed. Now that they were gone…

"I… I can't go on. I don't want to live anymore! I'm nothing without my family!"

He peered into the rough current of the river below the bridge. The tips of several jagged rocks peeked through the choppy waters, inviting the broken man to fall upon them. He knew it now. He wanted to die. He felt that he deserved it for failing to protect Mai from the savage man that killed her. However, despite how much he wanted to die, he just couldn't bring himself to jump over the edge. He was afraid… afraid of where he would end up after death took him away. He backed up a few steps and grabbed his head.

"I-I can't do it. I'm too damn scared! What can I…do…"

He closed his eyes and thought back to the story of Lil' Slugger, a phantasmal force brought about by mankind's guilt and fear that once terrorized the city. Insane amounts of death and destruction ravaged the city the last time Lil' Slugger was around. It had been ten years since the disaster, but some desperate people have reported seeing him from time to time, most with bat induced wounds on their bodies. There was no way to confirm if this was really Lil' Slugger or not. Most people believe it's just some punk kid trying to pull a sinister prank on the entire city, trying to bring back painful memories of the past in the process. Still, the man had to wonder… if Lil' Slugger really was still around, perhaps he could send the broken man to the next world without having to do anything himself. After all, Lil' Slugger was supposed to be attracted to pain and hate…

The man looked down the long end of the empty, dimly lit bridge. A strong wind kicked up, causing his long coat to flap wildly with it. He threw his arms down to his sides and yelled, "Slugger! Lil' Slugger! If you really do still exist, I beg of you: take my life! Send me to the next world! I don't deserve to live!"

Nothing. The silence was deafening.

"Lil' Slugger!"

Roller blades. The sound of someone coming towards him on roller blades could be heard.

"Roller blades? Could it be…"

The outline of a small figure could be seen coming towards him. The light of one of the dim street lights reflected off of something in his hand: a bent, metallic bat.

The man smiled fearfully. "Lil' Slugger… so you really do still exist." He closed his eyes and raised his hands to the sky. "Take me away, I beg you. I no longer deserve to be here!"

_"Daddy…"_

"W-what? Who's there?" He looked everywhere around himself but saw no-one. "Is someone there!"

_"Daddy!"_

"From behind me?" He turned around but saw nothing. All he could hear was the slowly approaching Lil' Slugger. "What's going on here?"

"_Daddy!"_

"That voice… no, it can't be! It just can't be!" He pulled his wallet out of his back pocket and pulled out the picture of his beautiful daughter. "Mai!"

Ina strange twist that could only be fully realized in science fiction or fantasy, the image of Mai actually turned fully towards him. Her lips moved as the words of her ghostly voice filled his head.

_"Daddy, what are you doing!"_

"Mai!" He shook his head. "No, I don't care how this is possible. I'm just glad to be able to speak with you one last time with you before I die."

_"Why do you have to die daddy?"_

"I… I…" Tears streamed down his face once again. "I failed to protect you! I deserve to die!" He opened his eyes and looked towards the still approaching murderous phantom. "And Lil' Slugger is going to fulfill my wish."

_"No daddy! It isn't your fault!"_

"It is my fault! What kind of father can't even protect his daughter!"

_"That man was a maniac daddy! There was nothing we could do! Please don't do this! I beg you!" _

"But I… I just want to be with you and your mother and brother again…"

_"I know daddy, and we want to be with you too, but we want you to live. You have to live for us daddy!" _

"Mai… my sweet Mai…"

_"Please daddy…"_

He gazed at Lil' Slugger once again. He was so close now that he could see the eerie smile on his face. He lowered his head and nodded to himself. "Live for you… yeah, I can do that for you honey. It'll be hard, but I'll do my best." He placed the picture back in his wallet and put it back in his pocket.

Lil' Slugger reeled back and prepared to swing his bent bat.

"Although I have to admit… I sure will miss you."

**_CRACK!_**

The bat made contact with the man's head and seemed to freeze in place. Lil' Slugger had hit his mark but the man neither cried in pain nor did blood trickle down his face. It was as if the bat had struck ten inches of reinforced steel. The two said nothing as Lil' Slugger remained frozen at the end of his swing. Even when Lil' Slugger finally pulled away, the man did little more than look into the eyes of the phantom.

Slugger skated around in a very small circle and rested his bat on his shoulder. He looked up at the man with his eerily child-like eyes and smiled. "Not bad old man." He turned around and waved his free hand in the air. "See ya." He began skating his way back down the long, lonely bridge, whistling an eerily cheerful tune as he did so.

The man turned to the short end of the bridge and began to walk back toward the city. He looked up at the sky and watched as the snow fell. Not fully paying attention to where he was walking, he nearly tripped over something as he watched the snow. Wondering what had tripped him up, he looked down at the ground and saw what looked like the broken handle of a baseball bat. He flipped it in his hand twice and put it into one of the large pockets of his coat. "Kinda symbolic. I think I'll keep it." He looked back up at the sky and began to walk again. "Everytime I look at this, I'll think of you… Mai…"

_Meanwhile, in a very dark and lonely apartment complex on the far side of the city… _

"So… tasty… Ehehe…" The sadistic man licked his lips as he thought of last night. "Such a young piece of meat… so young and so sweet… eheh…" He looked down at his hands, still stained with blood from last night. He licked them lustfully. "Such a… **sweet **girl. What fun…"

A knock came to the door. The man picked up a knife, hid it behind his back and stood up. "Just a moment! I'll be right there, ehehe…" He whistled happily as he made his way to the door. He looked out of the peephole but saw no one.

"Eh?" He opened the door and looked down. A kid with a red cap and roller skates on stood before him. "Uh? What do you want, kid!"

No response.

"Fine then! I'll see you in-huh?"

The boy looked up at him and smiled as he brought a bent metallic bat out from behind his back.

"What the-"

The boy roared and bared his fangs, his eyes glowing red with hate and bloodlust as he swung his bat.

**_"AUGGHHHH!"_**

Though it mattered not, his screams went unheard as the murderous phantom had his way with the sadistic man.

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So how was it? A bit strange I'm sure, but I hoped you liked it all the same. Please leave reviews!


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